six colours
by Chasing Crows
Summary: the six most important colours of elizabeta héderváry's life. high T for mature themes. AU.


**six colours**

_the six most important colours of elizabeta héderváry's life._

**fandom: **axis powers hetalia

**rating: **high T/weak M? i don't even know. going with T for now, but tell me if the rating should be changed.

**warnings: **prostitution, character deaths, au, sexual themes

**author's notes:**__this is set in an au/alternate world, sort of middle ages, i guess? just really far back. about the style, well, i'm bad at full sentences kind of stories so it kind of just twisted into a really weird poetry-sorta style? haha i have no idea! anyways, enough rambling! i sincerely hope you enjoy this mess. thank you.

**.one.**

**crimson**

elizabeta is six and crawling through the underbrush

mama and papa always tell her

_it's not right for a young girl_

_to wander the forest like some sort of hooligan_

but elizabeta doesn't care

about that kinda stuff

.

as she trawls through the bushes and leaves,

crimson and fresh snow suddenly blurs into her vision

and with a solid _thwack_

she's thrown back, reeling

_watch where you're going, _a voice snarls

elizabeta snarls right back

_maybe you should listen to your own words!_

she looks up and, _oh,_

there's a boy with white hair and the most startling eyes

.

and he's her new best friend.

.

_they think i'm a devil, _gilbert says

they're sitting by a stream and kicking at the water.

_they think i'm a freak because of my hair and my eyes._

_they say it's not normal._

elizabeta laughs at the stupid people

who can't see how beautiful gilbert is

_they're just jealous, _she says

_i think you look really good._

gilbert tilts his head arrogantly

_of course! i'm the most awesome kid around, _he says

elizabeta snorts

_yeah, right._

gilbert gets up, eyes sparkling with glee

_wanna try me?_

elizabeta rises to meet the challenge.

_._

she's thirteen when her parents sell her to a brothel miles and miles away.

her mother weeps as they hug one last time

her father cries apology after apology

_i'm sorry eliza we needed the money i'm sorry we love you i'm sorry_

but all elizabeta can think of at that moment

is a boy with crimson eyes and white hair

a boy she fell in love with

who she never got to say goodbye to.

**.two.**

**mocha brown**

elizabeta will get her first customer soon

at least, that's what the other girls say

_most of us got our first customer at fourteen, _they tell her

they braid her hair with cheap flower pins and ragged ribbons

elizabeta takes a deep breath and hugs her knees, because

for the first time in her life

she is completely and utterly scared.

.

_his name is sadik, _the mama tells her

_sadik adnan. call him master unless he instructs otherwise._

the mama spins elizabeta to face her, hands firm on her shoulders

_don't fuck this up, _the mama says

_adnan's a good customer, and i'd hate to lose his patronage._

elizabeta nods, because it's the only thing she can do.

.

sadik is a huge man.

he towers over elizabeta, corded muscles evident under his shirt

mocha brown skin blending with the sharp whiteness of his mask

he examines her roughly,

grabbing her chin and turning her face side to side

expression bored and flat

involuntarily, elizabeta speaks up

_i'm not a farm animal, so don't handle me like one_

_hülye maszk arc_

instantly she covers her mouth

sadik looks surprised, but then a smile stretches across his face

_there we go, _he says

his voice is low

_i like it when girls have a little spark in them_

_you'll do good._

_._

sadik is a rough man by nature

he spares elizabeta no mercy, and she isn't sure

whether she hates him

or respects him

for that.

after he's done, he gets up and puts on his clothes

elizabeta lies on the bed, sore and aching

before he leaves, sadik turns to her

_you know, you might just become my favourite_

the wooden door closes.

over the next few years, sadik drops by often

he always requests for elizabeta, nobody but elizabeta

she asks him why, once

_all the other girls in here? they've given up_

_you've still got fire, and i like that_

_don't lose that flame, eliza_

elizabeta laughs.

_there isn't a fire in this world that doesn't stop burning, _she says

sadik grins

_well then, make sure you're the first._

one day, sadik simply stops coming,

and life goes on.

**.three.**

**spring green**

it's one of those days when nothing goes right

and elizabeta is tired of it all

she curls up in her secret spot under the stairs

and dozes off

she wakes up to a small blanket thrown over her

a mug of tea

and a friendly face.

.

_hi, i'm feliks. who are you?_

_._

she learns a lot about feliks

he's a male prostitute

apparently he also works sometimes as a bartender

in the brothel's little bar

he's in his early twenties and he speaks like a girl

and he's the funniest person elizabeta's ever met

within minutes he has her cracking up over his descriptions

of several of their coworkers

they spend the evening making fun of people they know.

soon, she's no longer a single unit

it's no longer 'elizabeta', it's 'elizabeta and feliks'

she's overjoyed; she hasn't had a best friend in a long while

and while feliks will never replace gilbert

it's nice to have someone.

.

feliks promises her the world.

one day, lizzie, one day

_we're totally gonna get out of this shithole_

_we're gonna open up a farm,_ he says

_and we'll raise some animals, _elizabeta chimes in

_but nothing, like, really ugly,_ feliks protests,

his spring green eyes sparkling

and there they sit, under the staircase

laughing and talking and dreaming

elizabeta wishes she could freeze this moment

and hold it in her hands forever.

.

_feliks is dead,_ the girls whisper.

_died trying to stop a bar fight._

_i heard someone beat him to death with a broken bottle._

_what of his best friend, the girl?_

_i heard she ran out of the room when the mama broke the news._

_poor darling, poor darling._

elizabeta runs out into the storm

rain pouring down her face

_you promised, _she howls

_we'd save up enough money to get us out of here_

_and then we'd buy a farm_

_and some animals_

_and we'd die old together_

_you lied, you asshole_

_you lied and now i'm all alone and you're not here_

_and we'll never have that farm or those animals_

_and we won't die old together_

_because you're already fucking dead, damn it all_

she sinks onto the cold, slick pebbles

and she cries.

**.four.**

**hazel**

a company of soldiers stop at the brothel for a night.

some of them are starry-eyed boys, still young to the horrors of battle

_we figured we needed a place to rest and unwind, _the older ones say

_and some of these young 'uns have ne'er been to a brothel_

_let alone had a girl_

_so we fig'erd we might as well, ya know?_

_life's too short not to enjoy it, 'specially when yer a soldier._

the prostitutes coo and fuss over the young men

enamoured by their youth and innocence

the veterans laugh from where they sit, downing beer after beer

_pick a girl, _they say

_the mama's givin' us a discount for our service_

_tonight, my lads, is a night for enjoyment_

_._

elizabeta ends up taking a young man with chestnut hair

and the cutest hazel eyes

to her room

_ve, _he says as they head towards the bed, _you're really pretty_

_i think you're the prettiest girl i've ever seen_

_what's your name, miss?_

_elizabeta, _she says

_call me elizabeta. what about you?_

he smiles. _i'm feliciano, elizabeta!_

afterwards, they simply lie on her bed and chat

feliciano's a talker, much to elizabeta's amusement

he tells her his life story

_(i was born in a town called Enice,_

_have you heard of it? oh, no? okay, well it's really pretty!)_

his family

_(my mama and papa are the nicest parents ever!_

_i have a brother too, his name's lovino, we're really close! _

_he's grumpy on the outside, but inside he's just a big softy)_

his friends

_(my best friend's ludwig, he's the big blond guy_

_who was sitting next to me_

_he looks really tough but he's kind of like my brother!_

_he's really nice on the inside, promise!)_

and everything else

it's been so long since someone treated her like a girl

and elizabeta's heart grows warm

as feliciano chatters on

_ve, elizabeta_

_yes, feliciano?_

_i really like you._

_._

_liza, _he says

_i'll make enough money to get your freedom_

_and even if you don't come to like me back, it's okay_

_i just want to see you happy, ve._

feliciano's company leaves later the next day

and on his way out, he gives her a hug and a promise

_i'll come back_

.

elizabeta is working one night, sweeping the floor

when a soldier marches in, tall and solemn

she recognises him–feliciano's best friend

_ludwig, right?_

ludwig does not reply, and

one look at his face tells elizabeta all she needs to know

_he's dead._

ludwig nods, sunken and hollow.

.

elizabeta closes her eyes.

.

ludwig leaves, but not before giving her a satchel

_for you, _he says

and he exits without looking back

later in the privacy of her little room, elizabeta opens the satchel

inside are

thirty-one silver pieces

and

countless letters, folded up into little paper hearts

all are addressed to her.

.

elizabeta reads every single one of them.

.

later, she puts them all on a string

and ties it around her neck

as a reminder of the soldier who loved a prostitute

and never came back.

**.five.**

**violet**

elizabeta's running an errand for the brothel

when she bumps into a young man

her basket of vegetables spills onto the floor

potatoes and carrots rolling left and right.

_sorry, _she says as she bends to pick them up

_no, don't be, _the man says

_it was partly my fault._

he helps her retrieve the vegetables

he has dark brown hair and beautiful violet eyes

and it's plain from his clothes and mannerisms

that he's a noble, or at least someone of high class

once all the vegetables are back in her basket, elizabeta turns to leave

but stops when the nobleman places a gentle hand on her arm

_wait, _he says

_what's your name?_

_._

they start seeing each other more and more often

elizabeta can't help but wonder if he's memorised her schedule

because whenever she leaves to do an errand in the town

she somehow ends up bumping into him

eventually, they begin to meet outside of her errands

whenever she has free time, they meet up at a flower field

and sit and talk a while.

sometimes they don't bother with conversation

and just lie down and watch the clouds drift by

.

roderich comes from a distinguished family

in the better parts of town

he has a bad constitution and is always getting sick

and he has the second most gorgeous eyes she's ever seen

.

elizabeta never tells him her job

she's too ashamed–roderich with his status of nobility

would surely find her disgusting

she doesn't want that

he never asks about it, though, so not a single lie passes through her lips.

one day he doesn't come

and then the day after that

and the day after that

it's been a whole week since they've met

and elizabeta knows why

.

_he found out._

.

one month after roderich's disappearance from her life

elizabeta's just finished piecing together her shattered heart

when a messenger hands her a letter

and a carved wooden box

_déjà vu, anybody?_

with shaking hands, she takes it.

.

.

.

_dearest elizabeta,_

_i am sorry for not coming to our meetings._

_my health took a sharp, sudden turn for the worse_

_and i have not much longer left._

_mother has tried to lie to me, but i know_

_i can feel it in my bones, in my every exhale_

_i am dying_

_elizabeta, when i first saw you at the market_

_you took my breath away_

_after some investigating, i learned that you were a prostitute_

_i will not lie: it bothered me some_

_however, after our first few meetings, i came to love you_

_and i hope you came to love me too_

_elizabeta, you are too good a woman for that brothel_

_i wish i could have been your husband_

_but that could never be._

_perhaps in another life, i would ask you to marry me_

_but i am a doomed man, and you?_

_you are a woman with so much life ahead of her_

_and so, i have left you a sizable fortune_

_at the very least, i will give you the means to purchase_

_that farm you always wanted._

_goodbye, elizabeta._

_yours forever,_

_roderich edelstein._

**.six.**

**rose pink**

it's been some years

since elizabeta bought her freedom, and her dream

it's a quaint little cottage on a small farm

elizabeta doesn't make much money, but she doesn't care

she gets along just fine

every morning it's the same routine over and over

get up, do the chores, care for the animals, eat, do more work, sleep.

elizabeta finds that routine helps keep her mind and body busy

she seeks comfort in repetition

.

she's weeding the plants when she hears her chickens making a ruckus

this won't the first time she's had thieves, so she arms herself with her pitchfork

and runs to the gate

there's a man there, just standing

he raises his head and, _oh,_

his hair's a bit greyer now, and his eyes have faded to rose pink,

but it's _him._

…_gilbert?_

_liz._

_i finally found you._

**.**

**.**

**.**

**final words: **whew! that took a bit! sorry with the bad epilogue! i just wanted elizabeta to finally have that happy ending. i know this is some shoddy writing. R&R, please! by the way, if the formatting ends up screwed, i am going to kill this website. ugh i can't even type properly anymore haha wow i am fumbling so many words right now.

_hülye maszk arc: _stupid mask face. or at least that's what google translate says! please correct me if this is totally wrong.

reupload because spacing messed up lmao. dammit fanfiction!


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